For a moment, the Dragon Demon was consumed not only by pain but also by shock and fury.
To be fished by the Sword Master was one thing, after all, the latter was a Saint, and being caught by him did not disgrace the dragon.
But a youth, why should he be able to do this?!
Roar!
The Dragon Demon bellowed, lunging at Li Hao.
“Still struggling?” Li Hao chuckled, his fishing line sweeping across casually and sending the Dragon Demon flying before reeling it in front of him.
The Dragon Demon was in agony, as if its body was ripping apart, and it screamed incessantly. When Li Hao dragged it before Sword Cliff again, panic set in. With the Sword Master present, injuring the youth was impossible, and it seemed the youth’s cultivation was extremely high, beyond what it could overcome.
“Saint Heir, spare my life, Saint Heir, spare my life…”
The Dragon Demon pleaded desperately, mistaking Li Hao for the Saint Heir from the Sword Ancestor Holy Land.
Besides the Saint Heir, who else could have the honor of sitting with the Sword Master while Fishing?
Hearing its plea, Li Hao couldn’t help but laugh. Observing the Fishing Experience he had acquired, he smiled, his fingertips summoning back the fishing hook that had embedded itself inside the creature.
As it was merely a concentration of energy, its dispersal and assembly were all matters of intent.
“Since you’ve begged so sincerely, I’ll reluctantly let you off.”
Li Hao said with a smile, “Go then.”
Upon hearing this, the Dragon Demon shed grateful tears, “Thank you, Saint Heir, thank you, Saint Heir!”
After speaking, it swiftly escaped, burrowing back into the deep pools beneath Sword Cliff.
“Liu…”
The other Dragon Demons quickly gathered around, eyeing cautiously, “You’re not hurt, are you? Did you just say Saint Heir?”
“Hm, another new Saint Heir, dammit!”
“So crafty, deliberately revealing the hook for Liu to pick up.”
“Fortunately, the Sword Master is merciful. He never kills us when he hooks us, and that bait is truly irresistible; I can even cultivate Sword Momentum with it.”
The Dragon Demons murmured among themselves. Imprisoned in Dragon Pool by the Sword Master, they also delighted in their situation—for feeding under the feet of a Saint was an immense opportunity.
Nevertheless, they often fell for tricks and entertained the Sword Master with their capture, a painful yet joyous existence.
“Be careful, and don’t go picking up strange things anymore; we need to be more vigilant.”
“The Sword Master is also Fishing above, but I didn’t see his bait. I don’t know what it’s disguised as this time. We must be careful.”
The Dragon Demons were all on high alert.
Dealing with the Sword Master’s wit daily, they were nearly paranoid.
Had it transformed into something else, they might have not gone for it; but seeing the hook so openly made them curious, and they took the bait.
Up on Sword Cliff, the Sword Master watched Li Hao actually catch one, and with such a simple trick was left speechless.
Without pause, Li Hao gathered his fishing line and cast the hook out again.
This time the line was still hidden, the hook half-exposed, but midway down the line, a second line branched off, extending to another spot above Dragon Pool, appearing completely inconspicuous.
“Look, the hook has dropped down again.”
“Hmph, running out of tricks, do you think we’ll fall for the same tactic again?”
“Look, a silly fish is heading over, sniffing around it.”
The Dragon Demons circled nearby, watching the hook intently. Other fish occupied the area—Dragon Pool’s downstream connected to a river outside Saint Mountain, where Fish Demons ventured in hopes of ascending the Gragon Gate.
The little Fish Demon seemed insignificant, but now it tentatively touched the hook and elicited no response.
The Dragon Demons were taken aback, but soon realized the little Fish Demon’s touch was too light—the line probably couldn’t detect it, or it sensed it was a small catch and didn’t bother with the hook.
“Go on, pull hard!”
The recently hooked Liu, the Dragon Demon, said viciously to the little Fish Demon.
The little Fish Demon was timid but refused to budge.
Liu hadn’t expected defiance from such a little Fish Demon, becoming enraged and immediately inhaling it into its mouth.
“Die…”
Before it could feel satisfied, the Fish Demon in its mouth abruptly hardened and quickly pierced through.
“The hook?!”
Liu’s eyes bulged.
Then, suddenly yanked by a powerful force, its body was lifted into the air, hauled up the high Sword Cliff.
And the wielder of the line was still Li Hao.
“Saint Heir, spare my life, spare my life…” cried the Dragon Demon, Ao Jie, frantically.
Li Hao was slightly exasperated, “You again? Can’t you learn from your mistakes?”
Ao Jie was on the verge of tears. It was your trickery! Who could have thought you’d disguise it as a little fish, making one touch their own hook.
Li Hao retracted his palm’s power and said, “Don’t get caught again.”
I wish I could… Ao Jie was filled with suppressed grief. What kind of situation was this? Getting hooked and then scolded for it!
Beside them, the Sword Master’s grip on the fishing rod twitched slightly.
A solemnity that was absent before now crept into his usually impassive gaze.
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The first catch could be chalked up to luck, a simple trick, but the technique used in the second catch was much more cunning, and it even involved a chain fishing scheme.
The first catch targeted curiosity; the second preyed on anger—the emotions, the Demon Heart, were what was being fished!
At that moment, the Sword Master had to admit that Li Hao’s fishing technique was indeed quite good.
Li Hao glanced toward the Sword Master before casting his line once more.
The Sword Master felt slightly flustered by that look. In the realm of Sword Dao, he had reached the pinnacle, as solitary as snow, but in the art of Fishing, he was still an aspiring climber. And now, he was experiencing the long-lost sensation of rivalry and competition.
The Sword Master remained silent but grew serious.
Before long, Li Hao was lifting the rod for the third time.
And once again, it was the very same Ao Jie on the hook.
Li Hao was rather exasperated. Was this Dragon Demon guaranteed to be hooked?
Catching the same prey repeatedly would only diminish his Fishing Experience, and he certainly did not want to hook this Dragon Demon again.
Couldn’t you let someone else have a chance at being caught?